XLI: Richard Armitage by the numbers

[This is my third time celebrating the Armitage birthday. Here are 2010 and 2011.

If you’d like a reminder of the list of Mr. Armitage’s achievements in the last year, check it out at RichardArmitageNet.com. Since it’s come up — I have no connection with Mr. Armitage and do not forward messages to him. If you want to leave him a message, do it RichardArmitageNet.com’s link until 8 p.m. UK time on the 22nd!

Age at which a man’s soul has reached maturity and is considered prepared to study Kabbalah. Though until recently you had the necessary beard, I don’t think you have time now, what with all this extremely unserious tornado chasing.

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39.

Age at which you publicly described yourself as “middle-aged” for the first time (February 11, 2011, Wellington, New Zealand). Never forget: Forty is the new twenty-five, babe.

There’s a lot to say about your life when you’re almost forty — even if you’d never be the one to say it. Except maybe for that bit about playing an elf when you were a teen. Richard Armitage at the first news conference for The Hobbit, February 11, 2011, Wellington, New Zealand. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

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[Walther P]38.

Heinz Kruger’s handgun. Did you think, when you started this career, that you’d spend this much time with weapons? Or prepare for a qualification in stage fighting?

Your age when you appeared on UK screens and started the ovarian explosion that doctors are still struggling to treat because none of the patients want to be cured. As a result, North & South DVDs are now shipped with a women’s health advisory warning.

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33.

Age when you filmed North & South. Good things come to those who wait — to you, and then to us!

The age at which your portrayal of Lee in Cold Feet was broadcast for the first time — and the very latest point at which your ongoing need to work out intensively for career reasons can have been born. So begins a potential career as beefcake, something you’ve expressed a fair amount of ambivalence about over the years.

The character who needed a perfect six-pack: Lee (Richard Armitage) disrobes at the beginning of his flirt with Ramona (Jacey Sallés) in Cold Feet 5.1. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

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31.

Approximate number of seconds you sustained the tension in this scene with solely your eyes, two lines, and a thumb.

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30.

Age at which you performed your first named television role: Tom Steele, in which role you revealed an early and telling predilection for leather.

Dr. Tom Steele (Richard Armitage) tries to put off an emergency call so he can enjoy his partner’s birthday celebration, in Doctors. Source: Richard Armitage Online

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29.

Seconds of pure delight you give Claude Monet after he sells some paintings, in episode 2 of The Impressionists.

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28.

Day of November, 2012, when we can expect to see you on the red carpet again, in Wellington!

Richard Armitage, backstage at Old Vic Theatre, November 20, 2010, the night before the 24 Hour Plays. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

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23.

Seconds of premeditated skank below that exemplify one of your greatest talents as an actor — making it hard for the viewer to tell on what level your character knows that he is lying. The first time I watched Between the Sheets, I actually believed for most of the series that Paul Andrews was innocent.

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22.

Number of dancers visible, including you, in this very early photo of your days in musical theater. (Yeah, I know, “nine ladies dancing,” but this plan was surprisingly hard to complete!) You must know or have met huge swathes of the young theatrical world in those days, now two decades in the past.

Cast of 42nd Street, picture taken in Blackpool, early 1990s. Richard Armitage said to be third man from right, and to have been costumed in a specially sized hat so as to reduce his height. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

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21.

The century in which you’ve made your career. Which makes you sound unbelievably space-aged and contemporary!

For me, the number of seconds that encapsulate what your career heretofore comes down to — why I couldn’t stop watching you once I started — and the reason why, no matter the merits of the project itself, I’ll always be eager to see more of you.

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15.

Most painful seconds in your small-screen career. A master of playing humiliation, you’re so vivid here I almost can’t bear to watch.

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14.

Age at leaving home to study the arts at school at Pattison College. Your determination and perseverance impress and inspire me.

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13.

Number of dwarfs in the film of The Hobbit. (Even though just one has stolen my heart).

Number of delicious discs of Lords of the North! (Even if I’m still afraid to listen to the next one!)

Richard Armitage, as pictured on the binder for the Lords of the North audiobook CDs. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

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9.

Chapter of Venetia in which Damerel first kisses Venetia as would-be lover (as opposed to as assailant) and point at which you make another colossal deposit to your account at the First International Bank of the Ladies’ Man.

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8.

Minimum number of visible bands of leather piping on each side of the Guy of Gisborne costume that you wore in series 1 and 2 of Robin Hood. Proof the leather love did not go away.

Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisborne and Keith Allen as the Sheriff in a publicity still from series 2 of Robin Hood. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

I realized this number may be controversial. Number of times you have played a character named John (or ethnic variant, Ian): Ian Macalwain, John Standring, Mr. Thornton, John Mulligan, John Porter, John Bateman. Have I missed any?

My favorite of all the Johns: John Standring (Richard Armitage) during his sudden transformation from sheepdog to human male in episode 3 of Sparkhouse. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

63 Responses to “XLI: Richard Armitage by the numbers”

I smiled and laughed and awwwwed through the whole thing. Brilliant job as usual, Servetus, and I can only think Mr. A would agree (although he’d likely blush and look at his beautiful big feet) 😀 Indeed, long live Richard Armitage and may he just keep getting bettah!

It’s already awfully late here, but on the quick I want so let you know that your birthday post is phenomenal!!! Just wonderful! I’ve to come back tomorrow and have a closer look to enjoy all the details. Now I collaps to bed and hopefully dream of a certain Mr. A. Thanks Serv for this Betthupferl 🙂

Hi Serv,
I love it! Your post is so delightful! I know that it is RA’s birthday–and he should get his wishes to come true–but if I were doing the wishing based on your list above, I would want my dream man to have:

1) Harry Kennedy’s eye brow flashes–I would give him reason to flash them. Ha!
2) John Thornton’s cravatless neck–yes please!
3) John Standring’s timidity in seeking love. But I would coax him to be less bashful by plenty of encouragement.
4) as a counterpoint, the ease and confidence of the RA we saw at Comic-Con.
5) And, Lord Dameral to give me a lesson in how he would seduce me to give him a kiss. Oh yes!

What a truly beautiful way to celebrate all these numbers, Servetus! Thank you so much for the wonderful memories, be they pictures, video clips or those swoon-inducing audio clips, they were just brilliant! He will always be my number one! 🙂

it did take a while 🙂 but that’s how it is with birthday presents for people that you can’t just buy something for. Not that “boughten” presents are bad, you understand, or don’t take thought. But if I could have bought him a book, that would have taken me 5 minutes 🙂

I hope he is having a wonderful birthday, too. I started it for him at midnight London time, but I think I’ll extend it to midnight in his time zone so he can have a little more time to enjoy it 🙂 I’m so generous that way.

It feels good to have a generous Servetus!!! For we ourselves can feel a little bit cosseted too!!
BTW You are heading with Siebenmeilenstiefeln (seven-league boots?) towards the million!!! Maybe tomorrrow?? Wow! An incredible number! Congrats in advance as I’m surely going to miss it when it actually will happen…….. 😉 Weiter so!!

Agreed! This is wild!! Yeah and it’s always the same, you think that most of the important things (in RA world) happen when you are asleep, even if I do not sleep longer than 6-7 hours, especially since I „met“ RA. It seems more likely to happen to you, as you are the 9-hours-long sleeper!! LOL

Thanks, Sloan. I think all the bloggers put a lot of work into their Richard Armitage birthday posts, graphics, vids, games, etc. — and it really shows. It’s been a ton of fun to surf around to read it all.

Wow what a brilliant post! I didn’t realize JS was your favourite John (I thought it may have been Portah)! I actually think the “sex” scene in the car was even more humiliating for Sweetie John than the conversation in the kitchen about marriage. And I believed Paul Andrews was innocent too the first time I watched BTS… Extra on RH set checking RA out: it could have been me, had I discovered him, well, a little earlier…*sigh* Still, better late than never! Happy AD!!!

I can understand that.. JS is more likely to be around, Porter would always be away on a mission. 🙂 For some reason, I find the scene in the Landrover more painful to watch than the kitchen scene so much so that I always fast forward through it. The kitchen scene on the other hand I must have watched a million times because his acting is so brilliant there. I think JS is one of his best performances to date. If not the best.

I consider John Standring to be his true breakthrough role. It was the first time, as I recall, that he went into the audition in character, and it was after Sparkhouse that his career really seemed to start to click. I remember being so amazed that the same actor who gave us the sexy, smouldering henchman Sir Guy could be the shy, awkward and steadfast Standring. And flirty-girty Lee! I was simply blown away. He was so believable.

Servetus, I’m in awe at the amount of research you had to do to write this post. It really is amazing!
BTW, Congrats of getting over 1 000 000 hits on your blog! That really is something.
I know you aren’t one for hooting your own horn, so I’ll do it for you 🙂
HOOOOT HOOOOT!